Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Can I firstly say that I was not able to get to the funeral service of Simon Crean, which is something that I was hoping to do, but I understand that it was indeed a fitting farewell and a fitting tribute to what I believe was one of Australia's great statesmen of recent decades. I first met Simon over 20 years ago—perhaps closer to 25 years ago. Simon was then deputy leader of the Labor Party and in opposition, and I was the mayor of the city of Salisbury. I invited Simon to visit our city because he was someone from Canberra I respected as having a really good understanding of regional affairs and local government. He came out and we met with the CEO at the time—Stephen Hains, myself and Simon—and discussed a whole range of matters with him. I was immediately struck by his breadth of knowledge, understanding of issues and his honesty. Simon from then on became someone I considered I could talk to about matters regardless of whether they were to do with local government or politics more broadly. Even though he was in Canberra and I was in Salisbury, I considered him someone that I could contact if I needed to get some knowledge about a matter I thought affected our city or the country more broadly.

Simon subsequently became Labor leader and, because of my early connection with him, I watched with interest how he conducted himself. Others have spoken about his honesty, particularly with respect to the Iraq war, but there were also a number of other matters he led the way on with respect to Labor policy. It was the way he was able to bring people together and his sense of inclusivity that I think made him the person that he was and supported and admired by so many.

As history shows, Simon was a very loyal Labor person who always put the party's interests ahead of his own. Indeed, in December 2003, when he stepped down as Labor leader, he did so again in the interests of the Australian Labor Party because he believed that a new leader might have a better chance of winning the 2004 election for the Labor Party. I cannot recall too many political leaders in the decades I have been watching politics willingly step down from a leadership position because they believed it was in the interests of their party to do so, but Simon did. I think that was, indeed, a measure of the man.

In 2006 he faced a preselection contest in his own seat of Hotham. I can recall that very well as well. I called Simon to wish him well in his efforts there. It was interesting that Simon, because of his own personal standing among the people he represented, easily prevailed in the local branch election that ensured that he was to continue as the member for Hotham. He did that without any support from any other senior Labor figure at the time. He did that truly by himself. Again, I think it speaks so much of the person that he was prepared to not only take a stand when there was little help from others around him but also take a stand because he believed it was the right thing to do, and the stand that he took was supported by the people he represented.

In 2007, when I was preselected to run for the seat of Makin, Simon in turn supported my campaign. His support was invaluable. He came out to the electorate on a couple of occasions and we visited different places. Again I felt so much confidence because of the fact I had Simon Crean backing me and standing by my side as I contested the election in 2007. Ultimately I was elected, in no small part to the support that Simon gave me. His support was, indeed, invaluable.

In 2010 Simon asked me to be a member of a committee that looked into the Murray-Darling Basin Plan. As a South Australian he knew I had interest in the River Murray. An inquiry took place that was headed by Tony Windsor, the member for New England at the time. That inquiry effectively became the foundation of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan we have today. Simon wanted South Australia to be represented on that committee and asked if I would be a member of that committee, and I was.

It was, in fact, one of the most interesting inquiries I have been a part of during all my time in this place. It was a very in-depth and extensive inquiry. We went right throughout the basin. We listened to communities in each and every town that would have been affected. I can recall that at the time we wrote the report we literally went through the report line by line, which is not often the case with parliamentary committee work.

I felt honoured that Simon had asked me to be a part of that committee. To this day I feel most proud of having been part of the committee that worked on a plan that to this day continues to be debated and is so significant to the national interest. The fact that Simon had confidence in me to be a member of that committee is something I have never forgotten.

During the Rudd-Gillard leadership years, when I was here in this place as well, I also noted that Simon continued to always put the party's best interests first. He never took a position because it was in the personal interest of an individual member; he took a position because he thought it was in the party's best interests. I had discussions with him on the very day that Kevin Rudd lost his leadership. Simon called me and we had a chat about that.

But I had ongoing and continuous discussions with him throughout that whole period, which was tumultuous; I don't pretend it wasn't. Again, I always respected his advice and respected him for putting the party first. Indeed, towards the end of all those leadership battles, Simon took a personal stance, again, and only did so because he thought it would be in the party's interest for him to do that.

I didn't see much of Simon when he left this place, but we did cross paths on a couple of occasions, and nothing had changed with respect to the character of the man that I always knew. His passing was completely unexpected, and I have to say it truly saddened me. It saddened me not just because it was unexpected but because I felt that I had lost someone that I could always rely on to talk to or get advice from and that I had a great deal of respect for. It saddened me because, quite frankly, I still think he had so much more to contribute to both our nation and global politics. As everybody knows and as others have said, he was actually still continuing to do that at the time he passed away.

I believe that Australia is indeed a much better place because of Simon Crean's contribution over many decades to Australian public policy. Whether it was through his own personal work in his early days in the union movement or, later on, it was through the diverse portfolios that he held in this place, his contribution to Australian politics is indeed immense. Today I remember and thank a thoroughly decent man for both his friendship and service to our nation, and I extend my sincere condolences to his wife, Carole, his children, his extended family and his many friends.

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